


Snapshots

by lazydaisy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Graduation, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, SO MUCH FLUFF, Underage Drinking, also theres no smut oooooops sorry, it's like all fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:31:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3842368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazydaisy/pseuds/lazydaisy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall, Harry, Louis, Zayn, and Liam are graduating high school and are looking back on the past fondly. Zayn is valedictorian and writes a secret speech that he won't even let his boyfriend Liam read before the big day. Love, friendship, and dreams are heavy in the budding summer air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snapshots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [louisfoxlinson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisfoxlinson/gifts).



> THIS IS MY GIFT FOR KAYLEE, WHO IS GRADUATING COLLEGE VERY SOON! YOU'RE A GROWNUP NOW! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!
> 
> Half of this is like flashbacks, indicated by '++' and italics, so I hope it's cohesive and not super confusing!! Let me know what you think! I didn't know I needed a fic like this until I was writing it, so I hope yall feel the same way and it's something a little different to what you usually read. 
> 
> I suppose this is more about like OT5 and not just the romantic relationships? Like there's obviously parts with the romantic pairings but its mainly meant to be sort of a coming of age friendship type of deal.
> 
> The plot was accidentally guided by a few Kodaline songs, two of which are mentioned in the actual fic. I listen to music when I write, so a lot of the time those songs that I'm hearing influence the storyline, and a lot of the time I write certain scenes with that song in mind, as if it were a movie and the song was playing in the background. :) I'll just list them in case you want to put them on while you're reading those scenes. Is that lame? Oh well.
> 
> 'Getting to know you' bar scene - Coming Alive  
> After Louis' story the night before graduation - High Hopes  
> Zayn's speech - Way Back When  
> Post-graduation in the car to the bar - All Comes Down  
> Drive to Uni - Big Bad World
> 
> I didn't really re-read this because I'm lazy and a little tired, so (i hope not but) there may be some mistakes.

No one was surprised that Zayn had earned the spot of Valedictorian of their graduating class. That being said, it still brought tears of pride to Liam’s eyes whenever his boyfriend talked about preparing his speech.

“No, Liam. I don’t want you to read it. It’s a surprise!” Zayn had insisted that Liam hear it at the same time as everyone else in his class.

Liam grumbled, putting on his best pout face because it always works on Zayn.

 

++

_“Liam, NO. We’re going into first year at uni, we do NOT need a puppy.”_

_All Liam had suggested was that because they’re sharing an apartment off campus, maybe getting a puppy would be a good idea. For a morale boost or something._

_“Zaaaaayn. Come onnnnnn. A puppy would be great for us. Dogs are a known stress reliever, you know. I think I read that somewhere.” Liam smiled, straddling Zayn’s hips on the bed. Zayn’s sweaty, post-sex nakedness lying underneath Liam’s._

_He knew that this would be the best time to ask. Whenever Liam wanted to do something that he thought Zayn might say no to, like their matching tattoos or letting Niall, Louis and Harry live with them in their giant loft apartment during the school year, he would ask during or after sex. Over the three wonderful years that they’d been dating, Liam had learned that it was one of the times when Zayn was the softest… no pun intended._

_Some might call it ‘taking advantage of the situation’, but Liam liked to think of it as tactical._

_“Liam, having a dog piss all over the carpet at 2 am isn’t really my definition of ‘stress relief’.” He was cracking, Liam knew he had to compromise a little and he’d have Zayn snagged._

_“Okay, not a puppy then. We can adopt from the RSPCA. A young dog that’s housetrained.” Liam flashed Zayn a grin._

_“Liam…” Zayn sighed._

_Wait for it… wait for it… keep smiling, Payne._

_“Fine. Fine. Okay. You win, we can get a dog. But if it shits on our bed, you’re cleaning it up.”_

_Liam cheered and kissed Zayn before heading down his body to give him a proper thank you._

_++_

 

“Liam, that face isn’t going to work this time. Please, just leave it. I really want you to hear it as I’m reading it, babe. It would mean a lot to me.” It was Zayn’s turn to pout, and it wouldn’t have worked, but Zayn only pulled this face out when he  _really_ wanted something from Liam. 

“Fine. Keep your secrets from me, Zayn Malik.” He clutched his heart, dramatically feigning his heartbreak.

“Oh shove off. Come here, Li. The boys will be here in a bit and I’ll be too busy making sure Niall doesn’t kill himself doing a backflip into the shallow end of my pool to cuddle with you.”

Zayn’s house was the center point of the five boys’ houses, and the biggest of the five. Whenever they felt like hanging out or bunking off school they would congregate to Zayn’s, where his mother would dote over them and let them be boys, even if that meant falling out of trees in the backyard or spilling dark rum all over to the brand new white carpet in the basement.

“Mmm… well, I certainly can’t say no to that, can I?” Liam giggled, striding across the room to clamber onto Zayn’s bed, letting the smaller man nestle himself into Liam’s broad chest.

Zayn smiled up at Liam, craning his neck up to plant a warm kiss to Liam’s lips.

“Love you, Li.”

“Love you, too, Zed.”

They were too transfixed with each other to notice that Harry, Louis, and Niall had tiptoed into Zayn’s bedroom, startling them with their obnoxious bellows. 

“I LOVE YOU, NIALL!” 

“I LOVE YOU, TOO, LOU-BEAR!”

Liam rolled his eyes, flipping them off.

“Alright then. The circus is in town, I guess.” Liam winks at Zayn, who laughs into Liam’s chest.

“Heyyyyy, I didn’t do anything.” Harry pouted, which makes Zayn laugh harder.

“’course you didn’t Haz. Get your Louis under control, though, yeah? Last time we hung out like this I thought I’d lost hearing in my right ear.”

Harry giggled and pulled Louis into his chest when he sees his lips part to argue with Liam, pressing his lips to Louis’ to swallow his boyfriends’ protests.

“Ugh. See what you’ve done? You encouraged them, mate.” Niall’s teasing tone comes from the doorway before he pushes past Harry and Louis -- who are now trying to suck each others souls out through their mouths -- laying on the bed next to Zayn and Liam. “Come on, lads. We don’t have much time together! We can’t waste it making out with each other.” Niall giggled. 

Zayn rolled his eyes, “Mate. You seem to keep forgetting that, not only do we have the entire summer ahead of us, we’re also all going to the same school and living in the same apartment together? Which was not my idea, I’ll remind you, and I think it’s a terrible idea.”

“Zaynieeee. That hurts, yeah?” Niall pouts, always having been more emotional than he lets on.

Zayn just kisses a spot against Niall’s hairline, pulling him closer. 

“Hey! Is this your speech? Cool! Can I read?” Harry’s voice cuts the silence, having pulled his mouth from Louis’ miraculously. 

“No, you cannot. I’ve told you guys already. I want it to be a surprise. Come on, lets get some beers and hang out by the pool. Dad left some money for food.” Zayn gets up reluctantly and shoos everyone out of his bedroom, swatting Liam’s ass as he passes through the threshold. The little squeal of surprise that passed Liam’s lips was enough to make Zayn snicker.

 

The crackling bonfire was the only sound that could be heard between the five of them after a case of beer, two pizzas, and a day of chasing Niall around the pool, trying to get it through his head that  _yes, doing a flip at this end of the pool is a bad idea._

“I’m really glad I met you lot.” Niall says, breaking up the calm silence with his soft tone.

Where they would usually be coupled up on the ground in front of the fire, they’d decided to actually sit in separate chairs this time because they knew how Niall always felt left out from their ‘disgusting PDA lovefest’, as he calls it. Which usually earns him a sloppy kiss on the mouth from Harry. 

Zayn smiled, nodding in agreement. “I’m really glad, too, Nialler. ‘s hard to imagine what school would have been like without you guys. And it’s even harder to imagine what university would be like without you, even though I do think that all of us living together might be a bad idea, but I know that no matter how it turns out, we’ll still be best mates.” 

Louis smiles, biting his lip and giggling. “Remember how we all met? I was in detention with Niall-“ 

“For somethin’ I didn’t even do!”

“Yes, yes, Niall. You are as pure and as innocent as a spring chicken.”

Everyone except for Niall snickers, waiting for Louis to continue. They all knew the story by heart, but it was always nice to hear every now and again.

 

++

_“Psst. Hey. Ireland.” Louis whispered, or… tried to whisper. He was never really great at doing that._

_“Huh? ‘re you talkin’ ‘t me, mate?” Niall sounded like he was close to dozing off._

_“Yes, obviously. If I ask you to distract the teacher so I can slip out of here, would you?”_

_Niall considered it for a moment, his brows coming together, his voice a low whisper._

_“Well, that depends. What’s in it for me?”_

_Louis smirked. “The knowledge of having helped a friend. I’m trying to shag this guy on the rugby team and his practice gets out in ten minutes.”_

_“I don’t even know your name mate, and you don’t know mine. How are we considered friends, again?”_

_++_

 

Nialls hooting laughter interrupted Louis’ storytelling. 

“Y-you… we’re… tryna shag… Li-Liam! You left that out of the story!”  His face was red with laughter, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. 

Louis reddened, obviously having tried to avoid that bit.

“Yes, I was. And then I found out he was arse over tit for a certain English nerd and… you know what? Shut up, Niall, you’re ruining the story. 

Louis cleared his throat, trying to remember where he left off.

“Where was I? Oh yeah, Niall being an insolent little shit.”

 

++

_Louis stuck his hand out in Niall’s direction, inviting him for a handshake._

_“Louis Tomlinson, year 9.”_

_“Niall Horan, year 9.”_

_They shook hands and Niall’s devious side took over._

_“A’right, then. What do you want me to do? And you better have a plan to bust me out of here, too, Tomlinson.”_

_“Just… like fall on the floor or something on my signal. Fake an injury or a fatal illness.”_

_Niall’s eyebrow quirked up at this plan, but he didn’t say no. Louis looked at the clock, giving the thumbs up when the clock reached 3:55. Niall fell out of his chair dramatically, but he actually ended up hitting his head on the floor, trying to grab a desk for balance, only to have the desk come tumbling down on top of him._

_The teacher ran over in concern, and Louis shot, the now actually injured, Niall a smile before ducking out of the room unseen._

_++_

“That fucking hurt, Tommo. I had a bruise on me ribcage for a week!”

Zayn and Liam were now the ones laughing uncontrollably. Both of them gripping their stomachs as tears rolled down their red cheeks.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I’ll be the one laughing when-" 

“You lot need to stop interrupting! It’ll be five in the fucking morning before I get through this story. And I do plan on getting all the way through it this time, we graduate tomorrow, it needs to be told.”

The laughter at Niall’s expense died down and Louis began again.

 

++

_Louis ran down the hall toward the boy’s locker room, he knew Liam’s timetable by heart at this point. He was nothing if not diligent._

_He leaned back against the wall, facing the locker room door. 15 minutes later, he emerged. Looking clean and smelling of spicy soap._

_“Liam Payne.”_

_Liam rolled his eyes, Louis knew that was just him trying not to show how fond he was. He’s done this once or twice before._

_“Louis, what’s up?”_

_“Snuck out of detention. Wanted to see if you were free tonight. My parents are out for the night with my sisters… figured we could get some pizza and some vodka and have a good time.” Louis waggled his eyebrows suggestively._

_Liam let his smile come through that time._

_“You know, no offense, but when I told you I was gay… which, I don’t even know why I… never mind. When I told you I was gay, I didn’t mean that I was gay and wanted to shag you.”_

_“Well, who else do you have waiting on your doorstep, then? You must be turning arses away from your dick left and right, what with that face and those muscles. If you’re going to reject me, you have to tell me who it is.”_

_Liam’s face reddened and he shook his head._

_“I do_ **_not_ ** _, and it doesn’t even matter. He’s not into me. I don’t even think he knows I exist.”_

_“So, have sex with me, then. A consolation fuck, isn’t that what it’s called? I’ll tell the whole school how good of a lay you are and he’ll be lapping at your feet.”_

_Liam reddened even deeper, and this time he added a fervent headshake._

_“I don’t want to… get his attention like that. Thanks, though, Louis.”_

_Louis’ new friend Zayn from English class passed the boys in the hallway, what he was doing here at this hour Louis could only imagine._

_He drew his attention from Liam for a moment to greet Zayn as he passed right by them._

_“Malik!” Louis called as a sort of hello._

_Zayn gave a half wave as he kept walking. “Tomlinson.”_

_Louis smiled and turned back to Liam, who looked stunned to say the least._

_“You know him? How?”_

_“We met in English the other day. We were paired off for uh… whatsit… Don Quixote. I didn’t understand a word of it, but he was into it and he helped me get it.”_

_Liam’s expression was nothing short of fond._

_“Yeah, he’s good at that stuff. English stuff. And stuff.”_

_Louis chuckled at Liam’s apparent lack of knowledge of any words in the English language apart from the word ‘stuff’, and then realized…_

_“Oh_ **_shit_ ** _, he’s…” Louis whipped around to look in the direction Zayn had gone. “Good choice, mate. If I can’t have you, I’m glad he will.”_

_Liam let out a bark of laughter._

_“Uh… he won’t. I’ve liked him since last term and I don’t know how to talk to him. We were paired up for something in English last year, too. But he’s never talked to me outside of that classroom… so…”_

_Liam gave a shrug that he tried to pass off as ‘I don’t care’._

_“You’re a shit liar, yeah?”_

_The door to the auditorium swung open, interrupting their conversation. Out stepped a gangly group of teenage boys. Leading the pack was a boy with curly brown hair that he couldn’t keep out of his face. His pink lips would rival any baby pink lipstick in Louis’ mother’s collection. He was dressed in black skinny jeans that looked like they had been through the first world war with how ripped and tattered they were, a Stone Roses t-shirt that was probably black when the boy had bought it but was now a sun-bleached grey._

_“’ey Leemo!” The beautiful boy waved to Liam, his face spreading into a smile that exposed his deep dimples, his eyes the lightest shade of green Louis’d ever seen-_

_++_

“This is shit, Tommo. You didn’t describe my appearance like that. Or at  _all._ Am I undesirable to you or somethin’?” Niall complained, but it was overshadowed by Harry’s watery whisper.

“You remember exactly what I was wearing that day?” Harry’s eyes sparkled that light color green, the fire making the brown in his irises reflect gold.

“Yeah, babe. I do. Love at first sight or whatever.” Louis winked, reaching over to lace his fingers with Harry’s.

“You two are disgusting.” Niall grumbled.

Louis ignored him.

 

++

_“Hey Harry, how’s it?”_

_“Good. Just practicing with the band. We’re playing a gig tonight and my nan is over so we couldn’t rehearse in my basement because my mum was afraid the poor old woman would have a heart attack cause we’re so loud. I figured she might have a heart attack because we’re so_  good _, but that’s neither here nor there.” Harry winked at Liam and turned to Louis._

_“Hey mate. Friend of Liam’s?” Harry quirked his eyebrow up in Liam’s direction._

_Louis smirked, “Uh, yeah. Somethin’ like that. Louis Tomlinson. Nice to meet you.”_

_Harry patted Louis’ shoulder in greeting and looked back up at Liam._

_“You guys should come tonight! It’ll be a right blast. If I put your names on the list they’ll let you in with no ID.”_

_Neither Louis nor Liam were able to answer before they heard an angry Irish accent yelling “TOMLINSON, I’M GONNA KILL YA!” in their general direction._

_Niall was by Louis’ side before he could shield himself, but luckily he just opted for a punch in the arm instead of the face or the bollocks._

_“Well, you got out, didn’t you?”_

_“Yeah! Because she felt bad about my injuries and thought I should go home and get some sleep! The injuries that I only obtained because you wanted to shag a rugby player… which one of you is Liam?” Niall looked at the other two boys thoughtfully before turning to face the broader, more muscular boy that he figured was Liam._

_“I hope you two enjoy your sex, I’ll have you know that I was fatally wounded helping_ **_that one_ ** _sneak out.”_

_Louis giggled, and Liam followed suit._

_“We’re not going to shag, Niall. Change of plans. Liam has another endeavor…” Louis looked thoughtfully at Harry, “and I think I do, as well.” He winked at Harry, drawing out a pretty blush from the other boys cheeks._

_“Alright then. Since you two aren’t shagging tonight and I got injured for nothin’…”_

_“Niall, this is Harry. Harry, this is Niall. Niall we’re going to Harry’s gig tonight and you’re coming with us. I’ll buy you a pint.” Louis looked at Harry again. “Can you add ‘Niall Horan’ to the list? Oh! And ‘Zayn Malik’, as well.” He winked at Liam whose mouth was forming the words of a protest but they died in the back of his throat._

_“For sure. Get there at around 9, yeah? We go on at 10. I’ll have a drink with you guys before the set. My sister’s the bartender there and she always gives me free beer.”_

_“Sick. Okay then, lads.” Louis turns back to Harry, winking again. “It’s a date.”_

_The boys exchanged numbers and he gave everyone Zayn’s number as well, because why not. Harry assured everyone that if they met up at one of their houses, they could ride in the band van. No one had a better plan for getting there, so they agreed to meet up at Louis' at 8:45, where Harry's bandmate would pick them up and bring them._

 

_And just like that... Louis had all but brought these five boys together._

_++_

 

"Tommo, some of us were actually already friends before you came out of the pits of hell and dragged us all together." Liam said with a smirk. 

"Oh yes, excuse me for forgetting that you and Harry were nothing more than acquaintances before I came along. Niall was new like me. Zayn and his left hand got along smashingly." Louis snickered, which earned him a kick in the shin from Zayn. 

"Whatever mate, get to the good part."

 

_++_

_The trip to the sketchy bar that Harry's band 'White Eskimo' was playing at was nothing short of entertaining. The band's drummer, Aiden, had just gotten his license so he was the only one able to drive. The only problem with that was that Niall had started making heart eyes at him from the moment he pulled the giant metal deathtrap of a van into Louis' driveway. So the already scary prospect of getting anywhere in that van became a little bit scarier now that the driver was distracted the entire drive by Niall._

_They made it to the venue in one piece, somehow, and clambered out._

_Zayn looked like he was about to fall onto his ass, he was so dizzy and shaken by the erratic driving. Liam put a hand on his shoulder to steady him, offering Zayn a small smile._

_"Thanks, mate. Thought I was going down for sure." Zayn chuckled._

_"Don't worry. I've got you. Won't let you fall on your arse, I promise." Liam said sincerely, causing Zayn to blush._

_Liam offered Zayn a steadying hand to hold, which he contemplated taking for a few beats before he actually laced his fingers with Liam's. Liam tried to hide his blush, gently leading Zayn to the entrance, where Harry was patiently waiting for them to re-join the group._

 

_The bar was loud, but a good loud. The stage was being set up by Harry's band, but Harry was at the bar trying to talk his sister into sneaking him 5 pints while the four boys occupied a booth in the center of the bar._

_"This was a great idea, thanks Tommo!" Niall's smile was big and genuine, which caught on like wildfire among the rest of them._

_"Tommo?" Louis sounded both pleased and amused._

_"Yeah, 's like a nickname."_

_Louis ruffled Niall's already rumpled looking hair and Harry re-appeared with a wide grin and a tray of 5 pints and 5 shots of something clear that smelled a bit like coconut._

_"She even gave us some shots of... coconut rum, I think. Said she's happy I finally found some friends which she probably meant as an insult but I'm happy I found some friends as well." Harry shot a gleaming smile as he put the tray in the middle of the table and everyone took a shot glass and a pint._

_They clinked their shot glasses together, upon Louis' request to toast to new friends, and downed the strong liquid with coughs and gags._

_"That shit is awful." Niall said as he took a few gulps of beer._

_Liam and Harry both shrugged, it was better than nothing after all._

 

_"So... who at this table has not been properly acquainted?" Louis asked to break the silence._

_"Um... I guess I haven't properly... right. 'm Zayn. Zayn Malik. Louis, this is so awkward. Obviously we all know each others names by now, can't we just leave it? We're all friends now, or something, alright?"_

_Louis raised his eyebrows. "Or something?"_

_Zayn reddened and shot Louis his middle finger, avoiding the question in a few glugs of cheap beer._

_"Right! So, has anyone had the new music teacher yet? He is_ **_fit."_ ** _Niall asked._

_And, with that, the awkward 'getting to know you' dam was broken, everyone putting in their two cents about the new music teacher, Mr. Vernon._

 

_Harry's band ended up being quite good, apart from the bassist trying to scream some of the lyrics, which none of them was too fond of, but Liam didn't really notice because Zayn hadn't let go of his hand since he offered it to him outside of the van. Louis' eyes were trained on Harry the whole time, his thoughts traveling to obscene places whenever Harry licked his lips or dipped his head back so that his entire neck was stretched and exposed, asking to be kissed and bitten and marked. Niall was having similarly dirty thoughts about how rhythmic Aiden's thrusts would be, and if Aiden would spank his ass with the same care he was using to play the drums._

 

_The five of them left the bar in a slightly sweaty, giggling mass. Any onlooker would probably have thought they had known each other for years before that night._

_And as cheesy as it may sound, that night really was the beginning of many beautiful things._

_++_

 

The crackling of the fire filled the silent air again, as Louis finished the story. Everyone had moved to the ground at different points in the story, and by the end, they were squished into a huddle in front of the warm fire. 

The song on Niall's ipod changed, and Kodaline’s  _High Hopes_  started crooning softly in the background. They were all on the verge of tears, though no one would admit it. They were drunk on reminiscing and cheap beer. The fear of growing up weighing heavily in their hearts. But they knew they could count on their five piece, for better or for worse. 

 

 

Liam couldn't stop smoothing out the creases in his graduation gown, ( _"They're intended to be there, Liam, stop fussing with them!"_ His mother had chided more than once. But he was too anxious to stop and by the fourth reminder, she just stopped mentioning it.)

The events of the night before were still playing back in his head. How lucky he’d been to meet the four boys he now confidently refers to as ‘his best mates in the whole world’, one of them being his boyfriend of three years.

Even if they tried to separate and go off to different Uni’s, they probably wouldn’t have stayed apart for long. Louis’ mother always joked that the sheer force of Louis’ will had brought them together, and nothing could break that. He just thought that they were all good for each other in different ways. They clicked so fast that he couldn’t remember what life was like before he became best mates with four of the best boys he’d ever met.

“Liam, love. Your ride is here.” His mother winked, which caused a tear to drop down her cheek.

He hugged her tightly, kissing her cheek and telling her not to be upset. He’d still be her little boy forever. Which was apparently the wrong thing to say, because that sent a wave of tears down her cheeks.

Liam ran out to Zayn’s car, slipping into the passenger’s seat, Niall, Louis, and Harry crammed in the back. They didn’t seem to mind all that much, judging by the way they were passing thick breaths of smoke from a large joint to one another.

He rolled his eyes and kissed Zayn in greeting before he drove off toward the school. Liam turned to face the boys in the back.

“Really? Before graduation? You couldn’t have waited like… 3 hours?” Liam scolded, but it held no weight, his lips twitching up into a fond smile.

Harry shrugged, smoke passing through his lips with each word he spoke. “We just wanted to take one hit each before all this. We’re gonna finish it later. And by ‘we’ I mean…” he gestured to all five of them.

Zayn laughed, looking in his rearview mirror to meet Harry’s eyes. “Good to know you’re planning on sharing, since I’m the one who brought it.”

Harry rolled his eyes and passed the joint to Zayn, who gently put it out in the ashtray in his cup holder, slipping it in a plastic baggie and then into the glove box.

They arrived at the school before any of them was really ready, and the once lively car fell to an anxious silence.

“It’s gonna be alright, lads. We’re going to the same place next year, living in the same apartment, too. It’s fine.” Niall tried to calm them down, his Irish drawl made a little slower by the pot.

Zayn nodded, gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles started turning bright white.

Liam leaned over to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Hey. Breathe. You’re gonna do great, Zed. We can’t wait to hear your speech. We’re all so proud of you, babe.” Liam’s eyes shined with tears of pride again, and the bobble head nods from the three boys in the back only supported his words.

“Lets do this, gentleman.” Louis added.

They took one last look at each other and slowly emerged from Zayn’s old red beater. It was a Fiat of some kind, and totally unsafe for all 5 of them to cram into at one time, but they did it anyway.

Liam crossed in front of the car to take Zayn’s hand, looking to his other side to see that the three other boys were standing in line with them.

They were ready. It was time.

 

The headmaster introduced Zayn for his speech and he stepped up to the podium, clearing his throat before he began.

“Growing up. The two words parents hate to hear most. The two words that kids love to dream about and look forward to. We learn all about growing up in school, from our parents, but most often from our friends. We learn from each other’s mistakes, give advice when it’s needed, and receive it when we need to hear it. Luckily, I’ve found four of the best friends anyone in the world could ask for.”

Zayn turned back to address the people sitting in the chairs behind him, but everyone knew who he was talking about.

“Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Liam Payne. For four years, they have been my closest confidants, partners in crime, problem solvers, and one of ‘em has even earned the title of ‘boyfriend’” The crowd broke into light laughter. Liam’s smile was so large he thought his face might split apart.

“We’ve learned all about growing up. Together. I’ve learned from Niall that being genuinely happy is more important than anything else in the world. He also taught me that getting drunk and hopping the fence into a strangers yard to get fresh eggs to eat at two in the morning is probably not the best idea.” The crowd laughed again, Niall’s mother shot her son a disapproving look.

 

++

_“Come on! Nothin’ is better than fresh eggs right from the coop, mates. Trust me. I’ll be in and out in 3 minutes. Tommo, time me.”_

_They were all too drunk to protest, and fresh eggs sounded delicious at that moment, so they watched as Niall hopped the fence and disappeared into the dark toward Harry’s neighbors chicken coop._

_Two minutes and thirty-eight seconds later, they heard Niall running back toward them, grunting as he tried to hop the fence back over to Harry’s yard. He had taken his shirt off and put the eggs in it as a cradle of sorts._

_Unfortunately, he lost his footing and fell over the other side, instead of the graceful landing he had probably intended. The sound of eggs smashing against the grass was unmistakable, but one single egg survived the fall, and Harry scrambled and cooked it. The five of them shared that tiny portion of egg, most of the other eggs were dried on Niall’s skin and in his hair, and they laughed about the whole thing for the rest of the night, but thanked Niall because he was right, there is nothing like a farm fresh egg right from the coop._

_++_

 

“Louis taught me that being myself is truly the best way to make good friends, and that it’s actually possible to fly a kite through the sunroof of your car.”

 

++

_“Dude, this is not going to work.” Zayn warned._

_The five of them were bored as anything on a warm Sunday, and Louis had the idea to try to fly his new kite through Zayn’s sunroof._

_“Have a little faith in me, Zaynie. Your old pal Louis knows what he’s doing.” Louis countered._

_Harry made a face of disgust. “Lou, don’t talk about yourself in the third person it’s creepy.”_

_Louis rolled his eyes and tied the end of the kite string to the back of the passenger seat headrest, where Liam’s head was residing._

_“If this kite, by some miracle, actually flies and rips my headrest out, you’re paying for it. My mum is going to kill me if I wreck this car, I’ve only had it for two weeks!”_

_Louis ignored Zayn’s warning and sat back down in the backseat in between Niall and Harry, patting Zayn’s shoulder._

_“Okay, so Liam, just hold the kite steady until you feel it picking up air, and then let it go. Zayn, when he lets go, floor it.”_

_“Oh great, I get to participate in this horrible idea and die in a fiery car wreck. It’s my lucky day!” Liam grumbled, but grabbed the bottom of the kite anyway._

_Zayn started the car at a slow pace, and Liam felt the pull of the air under the kite’s wings._

_“Alright, letting go in 3… 2… GO!”_

_Zayn pressed the pedal to the floor, and to everyone’s amazement (including Louis because he really wasn’t sure if this was really going to work.), the kite took to the sky. The string unspooled until there was nothing left, and Zayn slowed down, letting the wind high above their heads keep the kite afloat. He put it in park and everyone got out quickly, staring in admiration at the tiny red dot flying high above the tree line all on its own._

_++_

“Harry taught me that it’s better to have a handful of great friends than a boatload of alright ones.” Zayn giggled fondly, his eyes crinkling up in Liam’s favorite smile. “And, that writing declarations of love in a stranger’s driveway with chalk might get the police called on you. Even if you explain to them that you actually meant to be in the driveway next to the stranger’s driveway.”

++

_“He’s gonna love this. It’s going to be great!” Harry was too excited for Zayn to turn him down._

_Declaring his love for Louis Tomlinson couldn’t be done by simply saying the words out loud. It had to be a grand gesture._

_The problem is, both Harry and Zayn had shared a joint and two shots of vodka before venturing out to Louis’ on foot, and they couldn’t quite remember his house number and everything looked the same in the dark._

_“1024. Yeah, I think this ones it.” Harry didn’t sound too sure, but Zayn trusted that he probably was right. This was **his** boyfriend after all. _

_They got to work, Zayn drawing the outlines of the words in big block letters, and Harry coloring said letters in and drawing hearts in all of the empty spaces._

_By the time they were done, they had a pretty handsome looking ‘I LOVE YOU, LOUIS!” drawn into the driveway facing the house._

_But before they could text Louis to look out his window, unmistakable red and blue flashing lights came toward them. They panicked but didn’t run, both of them opting for standing as still as statues in what they thought was Louis’ driveway._

_The car stopped in front of the house, much to their dismay, and the cop cleared his throat as he walked over to the boys._

_“What in the world is this?” He asked, his voice demanding a truthful answer._

_“Um, officer, this is my boyfriend’s house, you see. And I was just… well we were just…” Harry flapped his arms, pointing to the giant chalk writing._

_“Really? Your boyfriend’s house, eh? So, you’re dating 79 year old Arthur O’Hare? Because that’s who owns this house. He and his wife, Margaret.”_

_Zayn and Harry exchanged frightened glances, and Zayn opened his mouth to explain, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the dark on his left side._

_“Harry Edward Styles, you knob! You’ve got the wrong house!” Louis spoke as he stormed toward Harry._

_He wasn’t mad, though, because he leapt into Harry, kissing him sweetly._

_“I love you, too, you dickhead.”_

_Zayn smiled happily at his best friends, and slid a glance over to the policeman, whose mouth was twitching into a fond grin._

_“Okay, boys. Just, the three of you get back home. I’ll let Mr. O’Hare know that you’ll be returning tomorrow to wash this off of his drive.” The officer nodded and walked in the direction of the O’Hare’s front door._

_Harry lifted Louis up so he could take a picture of their masterpiece, before the three of them bolted next door to Louis’ house, laughing like crazy once they’d closed the door behind them._

_++_

 

“And my Liam. Taught me to love who I love, no matter what anyone says. Because as long as it’s real and it’s pure, it’s right.” Liam swiped the tears from his cheeks, beaming at Zayn. “And that when it’s as… magical as what we have, well, you can’t just let that slip away, can you?”

And before Liam even had time to be confused, Zayn was striding over to where he was sat in the front row, kneeling down on one knee, producing a black velvet box from the pocket of his graduation gown.

“Liam Payne. The love of my life. The Tony to my Pepper.” They both gave a thick chuckle at the Iron Man reference, because only Zayn would stick that into his marriage proposal. “Will you marry me?”

He worried his bottom lip for a moment while Liam processed what was going on, looking up over Zayn’s head to see his entire family in tears, he looked behind him to his three other best friends, who had the same tears running down their cheeks, before turning to Zayn, the love of his life, smiling wider than he previously thought was humanly possible.

“YES! Yes, Zed. Yes. I love you, yes.” Liam half giggled, half sobbed as he held out his trembling left hand for Zayn to slip the beautiful brushed gold ring onto, a few small diamonds embedded in the metal. He stood up and kissed Zayn passionately in front of his entire graduating class and their families.

Everyone erupted into cheers, and Liam and Zayn couldn’t stop smiling.

They kissed softly once more before Zayn was dragging Liam back to the podium.

“So, growing up. It’s a heavy task, but we all have to do it.” Zayn turned to smile at Liam, and then craned his head to smile at the three other boys. “But, if you’re lucky, you’ll find that it’s not so bad if you’re surrounded by the people who love you, and just _get_ you. Class of 2015, congratulations!”

Everyone erupted in cheers again and Zayn captured Liam’s lips in another kiss before leading him back to their seats.

The rest of the ceremony was rather tedious and uneventful, but when the headmaster announced their graduation and the Class of 2015 threw their hats up into the clear blue sky, the sun caught the diamonds on Liam’s engagement ring, and his heart leapt out of his chest at the sight. He ran to capture Zayn into a hug before the hats hit the ground, and Niall, Louis, and Harry came running to join the hug soon after.

“I love you guys.” Niall whispered through tears.

They exchanged tearful I love you’s, and stayed in a tight hug until their families were forced to come to them to congratulate them because they knew that this huddle wouldn’t be broken up voluntarily.

Liam’s family hugged him tightly and congratulated him on his graduation, but more so his engagement.

Zayn was soon pulled into the Payne family hug, and Liam was pulled into the Malik family, hearing similar tearful congratulations.

Zayn finally pulled Liam into another kiss, which their three best mates hastily broke up with a loud yell of “OUR BEST MATES ARE GETTING MARRIED!”, which evoked the a few cheers from students and families nearby.

 

Liam didn’t feel like this was the end of an era, anymore. But, the beginning of one.

 

They wished their parents goodbye and clambered back into Zayn’s car, hooting and whooping and crying all the way. They finally decided to celebrate with drinks at the bar it all began at.

Zayn turned up the radio, and like a scene pulled straight from a movie, the five-some belted out the lyrics to the song that was so fitting for their current mood.

_Why do I feel so old? ‘Cause I’m still so young._

_Yeah, but it all comes down to, what it all comes down to._

_It all comes down to, it all comes down to, yeah it all comes down to._

_It all comes down to, it all comes down to you._

 

_ Three Months Later _

 

“This is ridiculous, this car looks ridiculous with this fucking haul on the back. We look like clowns moving to the circus!” Louis yelled as Liam helped Zayn pack the large tow-behind trailer.

"Well if _someone_ would have just agreed to let our parents help us move in, this entire thing could have been avoided, couldn't it?" Niall quipped. 

Louis grumbled and wrapped his arms around Harry for protection.

They were only two hours from the University they were all attending, but all of their parents congregated at Zayn's house to bid them goodbye. 

Liam, Zayn and Niall finally got the tow-behind packed and secured after at least two hours of trying to fit everything on it, taking everything off, and trying to fit everything on it again in a different arrangement. 

"Call us when you get there!" Niall and Zayn's mothers said in unison. 

"We will!" The boys said in creepy unison back. 

The excitement was starting to bubble up again in Liam's belly. Headed off to university with his three best mates and his fiance with the promise of a huge loft apartment and a dog that Liam was planning on asking Zayn about again. 

 

They each hugged their families, and then hugged each other's families, and then hugged each other, which made their parents giggle through their tears. 

They got into the car in their usual seating arrangement and Zayn started it up, making sure they waved goodbye until their hands were threatening to fall off before Zayn pulled out of his driveway and headed off into the direction of their new adventure. 

Liam took Zayn's spare hand over the console, Zayn's matching engagement ring resting against the wheel on his left hand, Liam's ring reflecting in the sunlight, twined between Zayns fingers. 

 

This new adventure wasn't as scary as it seemed six months ago. They all knew they could do this, as long as they were doing it together.

 

**Author's Note:**

> AHH I hope you liked it!! I know it's not the longest thing in the world, but quality over quantity I suppose. Let me know here or on tumblr at juiceboxniall.tumblr.com :)


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